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- Sep 15, 2004
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Sports fandom is a fickle thing.
I used to be like, "If you weren't on the bandwagon from the beginning....you are a fair weather fan".... and get annoyed by training camp being SWAMPED in the summer of 2002 at Bryant College when I saw less than 100 people at TC the year before....
But over the years, I started to realize that EVERYBODY is a fan in equal standing. It doesn't matter if you started rooting for the Pats this week or if you were an original hard core fan since the team's inception in 1960. Yes, there will always be fans who only like "winners" or fans that only like one player and so forth.... or even gamblers for a single game.
To me...if you have ever sat on the edge of your seat and rooted for the Patriots/Brady ONCE...you earned your fan badge. There's no such thing as a "Super Fan"...some people are more serious about it than others...it doesn't matter...all that matter is the collective excitement and happiness we all experienced in unison watching Tom lead the Patriots to victory.
When I go to watch NFL games at bars...I like to watch different people and figure out their rooting interests in the games...some people are FFL fans, some like all NFL teams, some are gamblers, some are die hard loyalists to a team, some like specific players, and even some just like to gather around people/booze... it is what it is...
I am never going to rip someone's fandom...it doesn't matter....I'll high five you if you root for Brady or the Patriots...hell I even enjoy high fiving Niner fans when Garopollo makes a big play...same with Rams fans with Cookie....Seahawk fans with Hollister...etc...etc... but yeah...usually ex-Patriots on NFC teams not playing the Pats though....
I used to be like, "If you weren't on the bandwagon from the beginning....you are a fair weather fan".... and get annoyed by training camp being SWAMPED in the summer of 2002 at Bryant College when I saw less than 100 people at TC the year before....
But over the years, I started to realize that EVERYBODY is a fan in equal standing. It doesn't matter if you started rooting for the Pats this week or if you were an original hard core fan since the team's inception in 1960. Yes, there will always be fans who only like "winners" or fans that only like one player and so forth.... or even gamblers for a single game.
To me...if you have ever sat on the edge of your seat and rooted for the Patriots/Brady ONCE...you earned your fan badge. There's no such thing as a "Super Fan"...some people are more serious about it than others...it doesn't matter...all that matter is the collective excitement and happiness we all experienced in unison watching Tom lead the Patriots to victory.
When I go to watch NFL games at bars...I like to watch different people and figure out their rooting interests in the games...some people are FFL fans, some like all NFL teams, some are gamblers, some are die hard loyalists to a team, some like specific players, and even some just like to gather around people/booze... it is what it is...
I am never going to rip someone's fandom...it doesn't matter....I'll high five you if you root for Brady or the Patriots...hell I even enjoy high fiving Niner fans when Garopollo makes a big play...same with Rams fans with Cookie....Seahawk fans with Hollister...etc...etc... but yeah...usually ex-Patriots on NFC teams not playing the Pats though....